7:39AM Saturday
March 23, 2013

I spent the first half of the 2012 NFL season covering the Lions for Bleacher Report. During that time, I watched a team that just one season earlier looked like it was on the verge of great things collapse in the midst of off-field distractions and on-field shortcomings.

Perhaps the greatest of those shortcomings was the uncertainty at the running back position. It took a while for Mikel Leshoure to find his rhythm after serving a suspension for off-field transgressions (one of which comically involved him eating a bag of marijuana). Once he settled in, however, Leshoure provided the Lions with a power running game, something Detroit hadn't had in a while.

In the end, it would not be enough. The Lions went from a playoff team in 2011 to divisional cellar-dwellers in 2012. It didn't matter what they did - it always just seemed like they were missing something.

That something may have been found this offseason with the acquisition of Reggie Bush. Bush's presence is expected to make D...